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Potter Cottage
The Potter Cottage was the home of the Potter family until the final months of the First Wizarding War. It was a deselect little cottage located in the village of Godric's Hollow. When a prophecy concerning Harry's defeat of Lord Voldemort was foretold, a Fidelius Charm was placed on the home by Albus Dumbledore when the Dark Lord marked the family for death as a result. On the night of 31 October, 1981, Voldemort showed up to murder them, but was defeated when his Killing Curse meant for Harry rebounded on him and a large portion of the cottage was destroyed. The cottage has thenceforth been undisturbed and left in its ruined state. Description It was known to be a comfortably sized, two story building with a small gate and hedges surrounding the front yard. In both the films and official artwork, it is depicted as being made of stone construction, as large cobblestones decorate the walls of the outside. Harry's bedroom was located on the second floor, close to the staircase in the living room. Following Voldemort's attack on the cottage, Harry's room was blown apart by Voldemort's backfiring killing curse. The cottage was left in its ruined state as a testament to the violence of the First Wizarding War, and to the lives lost there. Inhabitants James and his Muggle-born wife Lily Evans used the house as a hiding place from Lord Voldemort when he marked them and their infant son Harry for death. The small family also had a cat that lived with them at the time. It is unknown what happened to the cat. After James and Lily were murdered the cottage remained empty, with no one else living in it. History First Wizarding War After a prophecy was made by Sybill Trelawney concerning the birth of one who would be able to defeat Lord Voldemort, Albus Dumbledore had the Potters go into hiding after being warned of Voldemort's intentions by then-Death Eater Severus Snape. A Fidelius Charm was placed on the house, with Sirius Black chosen as Secret-Keeper; this meant that the house and its occupants couldn't be found even if Voldemort "had his nose pressed against their sitting-room window". However, a last-minute decision was made to make Peter Pettigrew Secret-Keeper instead, as it was believed he would be less obvious to the Death Eaters. Unfortunately, neither the Potters nor Sirius knew that Pettigrew had in fact betrayed the Order of the Phoenix and turned spy for Voldemort. Murder of the Potters After learning the whereabouts of the Potter family from Pettigrew, Voldemort travelled to Godric's Hollow on the night of 31 October, 1981. With its magical protections broken, Voldemort was able to find it easily and blasted the front door open, catching its inhabitants off-guard. A James whom had left his wand on the couch was murdered quickly, trying to defend his family. After Voldemort murdered James he preceded up the stairs to infant Harry's nursery where mother and son were trapped inside. Cornered in the nursery, Lily refused to step aside for Voldemort, and was murdered as well, the green light from this act actually lighting up the entire upper floor. When the Dark Lord then attempted to murder the one prophesied to defeat him, the protection laid down by his mother's loving sacrifice caused the Killing Curse to rebound, destroying Voldemort's corporeal body but unfortunately also taking out a significant chunk of the cottage's upper floor. Harry was left with nothing but a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead, while Lord Voldemort's powers were temporally destroyed. Henceforth Harry was known as the "Boy Who Lived" and was marked as Lord Voldemort's equal, thus sealing his fate. Aftermath Dumbledore had placed a charm on the house that alerted him immediately to James and Lily's deaths. Sirius Black and Rubeus Hagrid discovered Harry still alive inside the ruined house. Hagrid used Sirius' flying motorcycle to deliver the infant to Dumbledore at 4 Privet Drive, while Black went after Pettigrew. Second Wizarding War This house was visited again by Harry on Christmas Eve, 1997, along with Hermione Granger. It had been left in its ruined state and made invisible to Muggles, as a monument to the Potters and to Voldemort's first downfall. By this time, nature had largely reclaimed it with ivy covering most of the surviving portions and the lawn having grown out of control Wizard visitors could observe a memorial sign with a message in golden letters explaining this fact. A number of visitors had written on the sign, either signing their names in Everlasting Ink, carving their initials, or leaving messages, including a number addressed directly to Harry Potter expressing their support for him. Hermione initially expressed her discomfort with the graffiti, though Harry found the sixteen years' worth of supportive messages comforting. After the Second Wizarding War, house --- house connected, with number 12 ... place.. through a portrait.